<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
Hello, folks!
I've gotten a lot of responses (22) so far regarding fellow celiacs'
experiences with 'straight' alcohol --straight as opposed to liqueur-type
drinks. I'm actually surprised at the level of conservativeness with which
most people have approached the problem. I,too, understand and almost always
practice the better-safe-than-sorry approach: health is precious!
Summarizing 22 posts isn't easy (Gee, I take a break from writing my MA
thesis and look what I get!), but I'll try to do my best. As is usually the
case, however, there seems to be a lot of 'ifs', 'ands', 'ors' and 'buts'
and, to borrow somebody's much enjoyed pun, very few solutions (Thanks, Don.
Yes, I'm e-mailing from Quebec.) I'll give it a shot...
First of all, three posters (Amy and Lisa and ?) suggested I simply
circumnavigate the beer problem and try alcoholic cidre, such as Woodchuck
('Light' only, according to one poster). I hadn't really thought of that one
so I'll give it a try --but I'll still remember to check the labels on the
tins or bottles.
A couple of other posters sang praises to a mexican import beer called
'Negro Modero'. I'm all ears to that suggestion and I'll give it a try as
soon as I figure out how to get it in Montreal, Canada (Anybody? Anybody?
Please!). The Japanese beer, Soporo, was also nominated to the safe list as
it contains hops which, presumably, are safe since they aren't a grain. Me
thinks I'll hop on down to the nearest liquor import store and check it out!
Lynelle suggested that I stay with the celiac's holy trinity --"dark rum,
tequila and wine" or always be the designated driver. The first option is a
lot more appealing as we already have a designated driver: taxi cabs or
paddy wagons... But the wine question is rather interesting and nobody seems
to agree on anything, whether it be red or white. The only unanimous
conclusion is that cheap wine, along with windshield wash fluid and
mouthwash, should be avoided in our quests for alcoholic highs, not just
because they might set off a reaction but also because they could cause
blindness (Hummm. What was it my chemistry teacher said about not confusing
ethyl and methyl alcohol?).
Now, a couple of posters praised californian wines and I remember reading
either on the list or on somebody's website that californian wines are O.K.
and that others should be avoided. Could somebody give me a reason for this
or should I just blow the idea off like I once did (Gulp!!!) with the head
on my beer? Might it be because there are some regulations in California
that forbid producers from adding grain alcohol to their wine in order to
top up its alcohol content? Is that supposed to be some sort of unscrupulous
practice that occurs in the north american wine industry? I mean, come on!,
I thought wine was made from grapes, lovingly crushed between the curly toes
of quaint peasant girls in the south of France and all rendered frail and
anaemic from eating too many baguettes chocked full with the g-word (Oh
please, cruel world, don't let yet another of my illusions be extinguished
like a candle in a storm of halon gas...).
And what about French wine? Even the cheap stuff? I find it hard to believe
that French wine production regulations would be less stringent than
North-American ones. Ne soyons pas dupes! chers amis. Would some kind soul
from France be willing to reveal a few national secrets, if only for the
good of humanity? Or what about some German, Italian or Chilean for that
matter? After all, there are so very many wine producing nations and even
the stuff that came from Archie Bunker's bathtub was gluten-free (Then
again, maybe not!).
The wine issue is almost as ridiculous as the Canada--United States trade
war that has been spawned by the differing attitudes of our respective
Celiac associations with regards to alcohol. As I said in my original post,
there is no reason my Irish genes should allow me to drink alcohols that are
considered unsafe for American celiacs of Irish descent. Of course, the
converse is also true! If this little Paddy can drink it, then so can you.
Unless, of course, the difference in the exchange rate allows American
Paddies to buy just enough more to go over the infamous and fleeting limit.
In the meantime, I humbly recommend that all American celiac assocs have
their annual conventions in Canada where, by simply crossing the
fourty-ninth parallel, they suddenly become richer and impervious to the
effects of certain gluten-containing alcohols (Whatever you do, don't try
the 1996 -40C windshield wash fluid: decreased sunlight this past summer
resulted in a crop failure). St. John's, Newfoundland -- the capital city of
the world's tenth largest island located on the east coast of Canada-- comes
highly recommended for convention purposes.
Well, let's get to the good stuff.
Leanne, from the Department of Biological Sciences of the U. of Alberta,
relates that she has never had any problem with rum, vodka or --surprise--
Gin. She says that her biopsies have been completely normal. Maybe she can
handle the distilled grains in that GIN because she lives in Canada...
Perhaps the only way to 'know' would be to get some people to volunteer to
consume the appropriate alcohols and then have blood done to see whether
there is an authentic immune response. Does anybody know if this can be done
and where can you sign up? One of the few credentials that I still haven't
put on my resume is 'human guinea pig'.
Joyce M. has had negative experience with rye and whiskey but gives rum the
thumbs-up.
Larry P. drinks tequila and rum without any difficulty but also said that he
consumes the occasional beer and is OK unless he gets carried away. Naughty!
Naughty, Larry!
Rick E. says that wine is fine, rum is good and tequila has not been a
problem. SCOTCH, on the other hand, makes him wish he came back to Canada to
drink it. It's a problem "for sure", as he says.
Steve S., besides offering me his sympathy for being stricken with sprue
during my college years (Really, it's not so bad...), expressed a well-taken
and appreciated note of caution. He drinks only potato vodka and, very
rarely, tequila. I don't know if his reserved attitude about tequila
reflects the fact that he feels it might be unsafe or whether he's just not
fussy about it. Perhaps the only danger associated with it is going
completely loco and charging around like a snorting bull.... Steve is also
an adept of Californian wines, mostly reds.
Lynelle T. reported probems with some of the brandies.
Chris from Washington warns of invisible reactions and steers clear of cheap
wines, especially the stuff in boxes (Yuck! Can anybody recommend a good
opthalmologist?). He says he VERY much enjoys tequila and rum, having become
quite a connaisseur of the latter during a business foray to the Carribean.
He says he would not recommend RYE because of its direct relationship to a
gluten containing grain (My question is, what's in a name?). He has a
similar opinion of Whiskey (although he has never liked it anyway --a point
on which I concur). To summarize he says: 'When in doubt, don't: the more
you play, the more your risk of colon cancer or other nasty ways to pay down
the road'. Morbid, but eloquent, don't you think?
Janet M. admonished me to follow the rules and says that she can only drink
rum and white wine. She prefers to take the latter with aspirins. I presume
this is to ward off hang-overs and not to avoid gluten reactions!
Arnold B. is a rum and wine man.
Shel. B. warned me to stay away from grain-based alcohols. Rum, wine and
POSSIBLY brandy are her staples (supplemented with fruits and vegetables and
foods from the other food groups as well).
Dick in Alaska does clear tequila which, as he says, goes down "smoooooth"
with grapefruit juice.
Susan in B.C. told me a horror story about her mother's experience with
Scotch whiskey. She says that some wines will affect herself adversely and
that the one drink of hard liquor (white rum) she has had since going GF had
a similar effect (screwed me up).
Steve in FLA relates that his charming wife has no difficulties with wine,
"red, blush or otherwise".
Susan, an ex-pat canadian in, Ireland says that her fairly sensitive husband
can live quite happily with a pint of draft Guinness but says that if he
"goes out and has six and then a dodgy dinner, he will be an unhappy boy
indeed". She says that other beers are a definite problem. She says he can
handle ONE gin and tonic and that rum is fine.
Susan's remarks remind me earlier of the comments made about hidden
reactions. Perhaps by just having one pint or one gin and tonic we can avoid
the obvious physiological manifestations of celiac disease, but there might
well be damage to the villa... When was the last time your dear hubbie let
the old fibre-optic snake slither into his beer tap?
Karen B., who's going to invite me to one of her blender-drink parties the
next time I'm in Alberta (hint, hint, nudge, nudge!), says that she drinks
vodka, Kahlua and Baileys and even makes the latter herself out of RYE
without having any problems with any of it.
Lisa in Germany reports just a little stomach discomfort with rum and no
problems at all with pure-spud vodka. She says, however, that she had a
frightful experience when her boyfriend treated her to a home-cooked meal
made with cooking wine. (Perhaps it was just his cooking, Lisa.)
WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
Well, that's all the posts I've received so far. I'm sure I'll get a few
more and when I do I'll pass them along with a few comments on what I've seen.
Kerwin
UQAM, Montreal
Canada
|
